Grocery shopping in the Five Towns has been elevated as Foodtown of Hewlett, underwent a complete renovation.
The supermarket, in the community for more than 20 years, hosted a grand re-opening on Sept. 12.
The employee-owned store, at 1368 Peninsula Blvd. in Hewlett, is part of the Peninsula Shopping Center, received a full makeover which included the addition of a bakery department, pizza oven, sushi station and hot foods in the brand new kitchen, as well as expansions of other existing sections.
“It’s absolutely beautiful,” Jackie Reardon-Forbes, Foodtown of Hewlett store manager said, adding that the customers are excited about the new features.
Foodtown, part of PSK Supermarkets, which has stores across New York and in Connecticut, New Jersey and Pennsylvania, executes store remodels for all stores on a 10-year rotating basis.
Noah Katz, president of Foodtown, led the ribbon-cutting ceremony, thanking all attendees from the Foodtown offices, and the company’s accountants, contractors, electricians, lawyers, the landlord, plumbers, vendors, and the Allegiance Retail Services team, which Foodtown is a part of.
“We are a company that is going to offer world class supermarkets with great low prices in all the wonderful communities that we serve,” Katz said.
He addressed the Hewlett store’s associates, thanking them for great work and urging them to continue sharing the store’s opportunities for customers to save money. By shopping “Green Way” and other Foodtown private label brands, Katz said, customers can earn rewards to help get free eggs, milk and a turkey in the weeks leading up to Thanksgiving.
“We can build the most amazing store, it’s like a Broadway show,” Katz said. “We can build the stage, we can build the set. We can build the props. We can put in all the lights. But it’s the actors on the stage that makes all the difference in the world. It’s you (the associates), and we want you to go out there and make it happen for the company.”
Ed Hunt, vice president of Foodtown, said the shopper’s reaction to the remodel, which started at the beginning of the year, will speak to the success.
“All the work that’s done, supports the employees, who in turn, support the community, because that’s what Foodtown is all about, supporting the local communities,” Hunt said.
Hunt thanked the supervisory team and the store manager’s team at the Foodtown of Hewlett.
A representative from Nassau County Executive Bruce Blakeman’s office and a representative from State Sen. Patricia Canzoneri-Fitzpatrick’s office presented Katz, Hunt and Reardon-Forbes with citations for their work in the Five Towns grocery store.
Assemblyman Ari Brown presented a citation, along with Hewlett-Woodmere Business Association President David Friedman and Hewlett-Woodmere Endowment Fund Chairperson John Roblin.